I would like to declare a war on women — namely, all those cringe-inducing ninnies who lust after every celebrity criminal defendant with big muscles, tattoos, puppy-dog eyes or Hollywood hair.You know who I'm talking about, right? America's Bad Boy groupies. They're on the courthouse steps with their "Free Jahar" signs, cooing over how "hot" and "cute" the bloodstained Boston Marathon bombing suspect is. He "can blow me up with babies," one moral reprobate quipped shortly after his capture. "I'm not gonna lie, the second bombing suspect, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, is hot. #sorrynotsorry," another young girl boasted.Among the callous accused killer's victims, in case you'd forgotten: 8-year-old boy Martin Richard, who had been cheering on his dad and other family friends at the race. But who cares about an innocent dead child blown to bits by pressure cooker bombs in the name of Allah?Far from a minuscule fringe, the Ja-harem is a growing social media phenomenon. Its members mimic Justin Bieber's Beliebers, adopting the last name of their Tiger Beat terrorist and doodling hearts around his mug shot. In heat or in jest, these depraved females continue to spread viral photos, memes and hashtags of their Islamist Idol. One woman showed up at Tsarnaev's court appearance Wednesday donning a "Free the Lion" T-shirt. Another sported a "Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is innocent" tee, while her gal pal shouted, "Exonerate!"For those ladies who prefer jocks to jihadis, there's accused murderer/NFL star Aaron Hernandez. He's "fine as wine," one woman lusted. He's "too damned sexy to go to prison," another lamented. "He can come to jail at my house," sighed yet another. In response to one of gangsta Hernandez's Glock-wielding Instagram pics, one sick chick slavered, "Soooo hot with the combination handgun-mirror selfie."Fugitive cop-killer Christopher Dorner also had his own fan club. Parked in front of their TV sets, women cheered on the "kinda sexy" homicidal maniac as he terrorized Southern California before perishing in a cabin inferno. "I'd honestly hide Dorner in my house," one fan girl enthused. Tens of thousands "liked" Dorner's various support pages on Facebook.Harmless Internet chitter-chatter? Don't kid yourselves. While some of the murderers' panting minions may be joking, it's irresponsible women like these who end up enabling, marrying and conspiring with public menaces.They're your neighbors and relatives, suburban gals like Colleen "Jihad Jane" LaRose and Jamie "Jihad Jamie" Paulin-Ramirez of Colorado, who agreed to wed Muslim terrorists and conspired to kill Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks. Paulin-Ramirez dragged her 6-year-old (whom she renamed "Walid") to Ireland to assist with the plot. Family members said she was "easily influenced" and that "any man that came along ... she kind of followed like a lost puppy."It would be one thing if these morally stunted followers segregated themselves in enclaves outside the American mainstream. But some of these damaged goods end up on juries, entrusted to weigh evidence fairly, digest complex instructions, and render impartial verdicts in matters of life and death. Indeed, they are aggressively sought after by predatory defense lawyers. I'll never forget the female jurors of the first murder trial of confessed parent-killers Lyle and Erik Menendez. Star-struck by "glamorous" defense lawyer Jill Abramson, the women of the Menendez jury told Los Angeles reporters that "they admired her wardrobe and biting wit."Their swooning for the hunky Menendez brothers, whom they praised as "bright" and "nice," was obscene. After a mistrial was declared, Abramson arranged for "her jurors" to meet the boys. Soon after, talk show queen Sally Jesse Raphael hosted a program on "women who would leave their husbands to marry a Menendez."From Menendez mania to Free Jahar, the pathologies persist: Easily led. Emotion-driven. Desperate for male approbation. Prone to acting with their lady parts instead of their lady smarts. Heckuva job, feminism! All the equalization and parity in education and the workplace are for naught if women can't distinguish right from wrong and "hot" from evil.Lesson learned: You can indoctrinate generations of American women in the ways of gender empowerment, but you can't make a goodly portion of them think straight. Hormones trump basic human decency and good judgment in the crowded coven of sociopaths.(Syndicated columnist Michelle Malkin is the daughter of Filipino Immigrants. She was born in Philadelphia, raised in southern New Jersey and now lives with her husband and daughter in Colorado. Her weekly column is carried by more than 100 newspapers.)

"Come on, team, let's get mean!"This is not the chant of rabid football fans, egging on their favorite team to crush the opponents. Rather, it's the raucous war cry of far-out right-wing ideologues all across the country who're pumping up Team GOP to pound the bejeezus out of America's millions of unemployed workers. Far from a game, this is real, and it's a moral abomination.I've been unemployed before, and I can tell you it's a misery — all the more so today, when there are far more people out of work than there are job openings. This leaves millions of our fellow Americans mired in the debilitating misery of long-term unemployment.But that's not miserable enough for a feral breed of Ayn Randian political zealots who are lobbying Republican governors, legislators and congress-critters to punish the jobless for ... well, for their joblessness. In this perverse universe, the conventional wisdom asserts that unemployment benefits and other poverty-prevention programs are sapping our nation's vitality by allowing "moochers" to live the Life of Reilly and avoid work.The GOP's budget demigod in the U.S. House, Rep. Paul Ryan, expressed this dogma in a fanciful homily deriding America's safety net as "a hammock that lulls able-bodied people to lives of dependency and complacency." This from a guy whose family's wealth was gained from government contacts and who has spent practically all of his adult life in the sweet-swaying hammock of congressional privilege, presently drawing $174,000 a year from Old Uncle Sugar.As ridiculous and just plain mean as this attitude is, it plays well in the insanity that now defines "the debate" in Republican primary elections. So, state-after-state (as well as Congress) are succumbing to this pound-the-poor, right-wing screed by frenetically slashing unemployment benefits.Behind this faux-philosophical push are the smiling barons of corporate America. Without jobless payments, you see, desperate millions will be forced to whatever low-wage, no-benefit, dead-end jobs the barons design.What's at work here is a profoundly awful ethical phenomenon that has seeped into the top strata of American society: Our nation's corporate and political elites have developed an immunity to shame. It has become morally acceptable in those lofty circles to enrich themselves while turning their backs on the rest of us. Even more damning, they feel free to slash America's already tattered safety net, leaving more holes than net for the workaday majority of Americans who've been knocked down by an ongoing economic disaster created by these very elites.For a look at how shameful these privileged powers have become, turn to North Carolina. Until recently, this Southern state maintained a fairly moderate government with a populist streak, taking pride in its educational system and other public efforts to maintain a middle class. No more. A shame-resistant political leadership has recently taken hold, consisting of corporate-funded tea party extremists who loathe the very idea of a safety net.The new bunch has been gutting everything from public schools to health care, and now they've turned on hard-hit citizens who're out of work. In a state with the fifth-highest jobless rate in the country, and with no recovery in sight, the right-wing governor and legislature recently whacked weekly unemployment benefits by a third, leaving struggling North Carolinians with a meager $350 a week to try to make ends meet, while simultaneously eliminating millions of consumer dollars that those families would otherwise be putting into the state's economy. Then, just to give the jobless another kick, the petty politicians cut the number of weeks people can receive unemployment aid.This official minginess automatically disqualified the state from getting $700 million a year for long-term jobless payments from the federal government. Yet Gov. Pat McCrory issued a cockamamie, Kafkaesque claim that the gut-job ensures that "our citizens' unemployment safety net is secure," while providing "an economic climate that allows job creators to start hiring again."Yeah, we'll all hold our breath until those "job creators" get going. Meanwhile, the GOP wrecking crew doled out a fat tax break for the corporate elites — for doing nothing. Take from the poor, give to the rich: backward Robin Hood. If ignorance is bliss, McCrory must be ecstatic.Meanwhile, his shameless immorality has unleashed a growing storm of weekly demonstrations known as "Moral Mondays." For information about this remarkable citizens' uprising, link to the North Carolina Justice Center: www.ncjustice.org.(Jim Hightower has been called American's most popular populist. The radio commentator and former Texas Commissioner of Agriculture is author of seven books, including "There's Nothing In the Middle of Road but Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos" and his new work, "Swim Against the Current: Even Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow".)

Understandably, the Muslim Brotherhood is enraged. Having won the presidency of Egypt in free and fair elections after the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak, President Mohammed Morsi has been ousted in a military coup and placed under house arrest. Brotherhood leaders, convicted of no crimes, are being rounded up.They played by America's rules. Now, with America's blessing, they are being locked up by America's friends in Egypt's armed forces.Nor is this the first perceived betrayal. When Hamas won the free elections demanded by George W. Bush, America refused to recognize their legitimacy and plotted the violent overthrow of Hamas in Gaza.When Islamists swept the first round of Algerian elections in 1991, the regime, with the blessing of Bush 1, canceled the second round, leading to a guerrilla war that cost 100,000 to 200,000 dead.If Muslims have come to believe that Americans preaching democracy are charlatans and hypocrites, do they not have a point?U.S. foreign policy once seemed to make sense. We put vital interests ahead of democratist ideology. We stood by those who stood by us. We did not spend time inspecting the moral credentials of those who took America's side. We played the cards we were dealt in this world.Gen. Washington danced a jig when he heard Louis XVI, a descendant of the Sun King, would support America's cause against our mother country.In 1917, Woodrow Wilson took us to war "to make the world safe for democracy" as an associate power of five empires — the British, French, Italian, Russian and Japanese. At war's end, Wilson signed treaties that plundered the lands and colonies of the three defeated empires, for the benefit of the victorious empires.In the Good War from 1941 to 1945 against the Nazis, our greatest ally was the mass murderer of Christians and democrats Josef Stalin.In the Cold War, Dwight Eisenhower sanctioned the overthrow of democratic governments in Guatemala and Iran and their replacement by autocrats who would take our side in the struggle for the world.We welcomed the Shah, Saudi kings and Gulf emirs. JFK welcomed the "Butcher of the Balkans," Marshal Tito, to the White House. President Nixon sided with autocratic Pakistan over democratic India — for Pakistan had sided with us.Nixon went to Beijing to toast Chairman Mao, a monster as great as Stalin. Liberals sickened by our alliance with the "corrupt and dictatorial regime" of President Ngo Dinh Diem in Saigon were ecstatic.The Nixon White House celebrated the overthrow of elected president Salvador Allende of Chile by Gen. Augusto Pincohet.Among other U.S. allies in the Cold War were Asian dictators and generals Chiang Kai-shek of China, Syngman Rhee and Park Chung-hee of South Korea, and Suharto of Indonesia.Portugal's dictator Antonio Salazar and Spain's Gen. Francisco Franco were loyal allies against Bolshevism. Mobutu Sese Seko was for 32 years our man in the Congo, as Emperor Haile Selassie was in Ethiopia.Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak were American allies and dictators of Egypt from 1970 to 2011, until, in the name of our democratic ideals, we threw our flawed friend Mubarak to the wolves.What is the cause of our present angst over what is happening in Cairo? Our democratist ideals appear to have been run over by U.S. armored personnel carriers driven by Egyptian soldiers trained by the U.S. Army. Whether or not our interests have been advanced, our ideals seem to have been wounded.Behind our ambivalence and paralysis may be found several truths. First, the Cold War, the life-or-death civilizational struggle that defined our times, is over. No vital U.S. interest is at risk in Egypt to justify military intervention or the shedding of American blood.This is thus their problem, not ours, most Americans believe, and our influence is receding there, even as that of the British, French and Russians did before us. Let them work it out.Testifying to this truth is the tape of Secretary of State John Kerry inspecting his yacht off Nantucket as the Egyptian regime fell, and Obama, after a brief National Security Council conclave, heading off for the golf course on the July 4 weekend, then on to Camp David.Today, from Egypt to Lebanon to Syria and Iraq, it is Islamist against secularist, Sunni vs. Shia, tribe against tribe, those in power against those who want power. The Arab Spring has ushered in the Arab war of all against all.That year 1848, when all the thrones of Europe were shaken by revolution, was a similar time. And those wise old war hawks of 1812, Henry Clay and John Calhoun, found themselves again on the same side.America, they said, should stay out."Masterly inactivity" is our role, said Calhoun. Added Clay, "Avoiding the distant wars of Europe, we should keep our lamp burning brightly on this Western shore as a light to all the nations than to hazard its utter extinction amid the ruins of fallen or falling republics."(Syndicated columnist Pat Buchanan has been a senior advisor to three presidents, twice a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination and the presidential nominee of the Reform Party in 2000. He won the New Hampshire Republican Primary in 1996.)

"Leading from behind" would seem the right place for America to be in the complex crisis engulfing Egypt. But critics want President Obama up front, telling the Egyptians what's what.Sen. John McCain complains on a Sunday talk show that Egypt's second coup in 2 1/2 years is "a strong indicator of the lack of American leadership, and influence, since we urged the military not to do that." The Arizona Republican goes on to insist that the leadership deficit is wrecking the whole Mideast. Citing the troubles in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and Afghanistan, McCain says, "When American doesn't lead, bad things happen."Now, can we seriously believe that a call from the president, even a stern call, would stop the whirlwind of conflict in Egypt? Sure we could threaten the $1.5 billion we give them in annual aid, but the new people in charge say they intend to reset the democracy and are friendlier to the United States. That's not going to happen.In Egypt we saw a democratically elected president deposed for undemocratic behavior (and incompetent governing). A tough call for us, but must the United States publicly pick sides in a struggle that (a) we cannot control and (b) U.S. participation only complicates?Naturally, both sides blame America, insisting that U.S. Ambassador Anne Patterson is plotting with their foes. The following quotes from The New York Times show our dilemma:Mona Mohammed, a bank clerk supporting the overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi: "The ambassador is part of a conspiracy against Egypt and its people."Mohammed Amr-All, a professor at a pro-Morsi demonstration: "The ambassador meets with the opposition and supports them."Back in the United States, Patterson's to blame, as well. Conservative David Brooks writes: "She tried to build relationships with whoever is in power. This created the appearance that she is subservient to the Brotherhood. It alienated the Egyptian masses."Of course, building relationships with whoever is in power is an ambassador's job, and Morsi was elected. And what about the pro-Muslim Brotherhood masses now protesting the Morsi ouster? Clearly, there are masses for every viewpoint.Writing in The New Republic, Marc Tracy offers an "appropriate liberal response." That would be "making clear that we value democracy," while using the tools of diplomacy "to put ourselves and our allies in more certain positions when democracy, as it inevitably does, winds up giving us unwelcome surprises."You wonder what "more certain positions" would be in the case of Egypt's unfolding chaos. Perhaps they don't exist — or put another way, the position we should have taken will be revealed by history, long after the dust settles on the tragic convulsions in Egypt.The European Union is quietly talking to all sides, as is the Obama administration. But Obama's cautionary approach is not the American way, says a punditry frustrated that we aren't using our power to do whatever. Perhaps it should be in certain disordered situations, which describes almost every Mideast crisis. To do otherwise means choosing from equally unattractive options and taking the inevitable blowback from the side we don't seem to be supporting — which, as we see in Egypt, tends to be both sides.More McCain: "Morsi was a terrible president. Their economy is in terrible shape thanks to their policies. But the fact is, the United States should not be supporting this coup."The fact is, we are not supporting the coup. As Obama told a National Security Council meeting over the weekend, "The United States is not aligned with, and does not support, any particular Egyptian political party or group." Lack of leadership? No, the only sensible response at this time.(A member of the Providence Journal editorial board, Froma Harrop writes a nationally syndicated column from that city. She has written for such diverse publications as The New York Times, Harper's Bazaar and Institutional Investor.)

For those people who are on Medicare, "Part D" offers the ability to select a drug insurance plan from any one of a number of providers. The options, or variables, are many. Some plans offer relatively low monthly premiums, but others are quite expensive. Some offer lower premiums but have higher deductibles. Co-pays vary as well. For these reasons, Medicare has developed an excellent website (http://www.medicare.gov/part-d/index.html) where individuals can compare insurance company coverage and cost, based on the medicines the individual is taking.Most people have heard about the coverage gap, commonly called the "donut hole" in Medicare Part D. When a person has incurred $2,970 in drug costs during the year (which is the combined cost paid by the insurance company and the policy holder), they then go into the coverage gap. While in the gap, their co-pay for brand name drugs will be 47.5 percent of the drugs retail cost, and 79 percent of the price for generic drugs. This continues until a total value of the drugs purchased amounts to $4,750. At that time, what is called "catastrophic" coverage takes over and co-pays are reduced dramatically . . . until the new year, when the whole process starts anew.For those people with limited resources, Social Security offers what is called "Extra Help", or low income support for the individual's Part D insurance. To qualify, an individual's income must be $17,235 or less, $23,265 if married and living together. If qualified, a modest monthly premium is provided, co-pays are reduced, and the coverage gap is eliminated. Social Security indicates that the "Extra Help" provision can save a person an average of about $4,000 per year. For more information about this program you can access this website, http://www.ssa.gov/prescriptionhelp/ .The statewide Service Link organization has an office in Laconia. They are an excellent resource serving the Belknap County area, and they have assisted countless citizens in their Medicare Part D search process. They may be reached at 528-6945. As a side note, while Medicare Part D has a defined enrollment period at the end of the year, there are some situations that allow individuals to enroll in a plan beyond the open enrollment period. For more information you may contact Service Link or access the following website, http://www.medicare.gov/publications/pubs/pdf/11219.pdfMedicaid, also called Title XIX, provides health coverage to children, pregnant women, parents, seniors and people with disabilities. The minimum income level for eligibility is 133 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL). However, in calculating eligibility the state Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) takes into account all income and assets, and a series of deductibles, to arrive at individual or household eligibility. If approved, the person/family may be eligible for doctor, hospital, dentist, vision, and other medical benefits, including prescription medicines. Those who think they may qualify for Medicaid benefits, may call New Hampshire's DHHS office at 1-800-852-3345 X5254. For those who are internet savvy, there are a number of internet links. However, the most direct link, and the quickest to determining possible eligibility is https://nheasy.nh.gov/ . This site is very user friendly and can provide you with an answer as to whether or not there's a possibility you may qualify for cash assistance, medical services, food stamps, or Medicare.It is recommended that families with children under the age of 19, who do not have health insurance, either call DHHS at the above number, or access the Internet link to determine if, based on their income, they might be eligible to qualify for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Depending on household income, insurance may be provided at partial or no cost for children's coverage.Those who qualify for Medicaid may receive their prescription medicines as part of that program. This website will link the reader to more information on eligibility and benefits. http://medicaid.gov/medicaid-chip-program-information/by-topics/eligibility/eligibility.htmlAnother very useful discount program is called RX Outreach. It is a non profit organization, a fully licensed mail order pharmacy, that offers prescription medicines to uninsured and underinsured individuals and families, as well as those who have limited prescription drug coverage. They are often used by those who either fail to qualify for direct help from a drug company, or the medicines they need are not part of a drug company's patient assistance program. The reader may access this website, http://www.rxoutreach.org/ .Walmart gained some recognition for their pharmacies when they came out with their program to provide a large number of generic medicines, charging $4 for a one month supply, $10 for three months. Once a drug company's patent expires on its brand name drug, other companies can provide their generic version of that medicine. Walmart's list of available generic medicines can be viewed by connecting to their internet website, http://i.walmartimages.com/i/if/hmp/fusion/customer_list.pdf Some other companies are offering prescription discount plans similar to Walmart's. You may access the Kroeger, Target, and Hannaford's drug plans via this website, http://www.ehow.com/info_8078094_stores-4-drug-plan.html.In summary, there are some excellent resources available to the people in Belknap County. Service Link, at 528-6945, is a good place to call when you don't know who to call. The need for medicines can be addressed in any number of ways but the first one to talk to should be your Primary Care Provider. She or he can often determine the path you need to take in obtaining your medicines. The Department of Health and Human Services covers a wide range of support services for those with limited income and resources.A following column will deal solely with a variety of benefits veterans have earned.(Bob Meade is a Laconia resident.)